Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Louisiana Students to Develop State Tourism Campaigns

KATC: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette's B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration teamed up with the Lieutenant Governor's Office and the state's Bicentennial Commission to host the first Louisiana Business Challenge, Tourism in Louisiana (LBC).

LBC challenges high school student teams, made of two to four students, to develop a campaign to attract visitors to Louisiana. Competitors must use emerging technologies, such as social media and non-traditional advertising, to promote a state or local event, historic site, festival, person or fair. The obstacle: teams may not use paid forms of media such as radio, TV or print.

"We want to celebrate Louisiana's unique culture and rich heritage by challenging our high school students to develop promotional plans that highlight local areas and our great state," said Dr. Joby John, dean of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration. "We want the rest of the world to be as excited as we are about our diverse cultural celebrations."

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne invited all high school students across Louisiana to participate. "I am excited about this unique statewide, high school student competition, and I am optimistic that these students will help our state lead the nation in the use of social media to promote tourism in Louisiana," said Dardenne. Applicants must register electronically by Oct. 30. Six regional teams will advance to the state competition at UL Lafayette on March 8 and 9, 2012.

The LBC is the first of its kind. The winning team will be given a trophy, monetary awards and statewide recognition. The deadline to submit campaigns is Jan. 16, 2012. In addition to the many awards, the winning campaign may be featured on the Louisiana Department of Tourism's website louisianatravel.com. For more information and registration, visit moody.louisiana.edu and click on the LBC logo.